The invention is concerned particularly with water craft intended for use on the ocean, for example merchant ships, sailing boats, motor boats or the like.
Especially in heavy seas, water craft of this type are moved in many different ways by the waves in addition to making their way through the water. These movements arise periodically as a function of the wave pattern, but also occur periodically in the form of rolling movements transverse to the longitudinal axis of the ship or boat and, because of the constant variation in the longitudinal tilt of the ship, in the form of pitching. With increasingly rough seas, when these movements are superimposed, the ship's hull, the rudder gear, the crew and the cargo are subjected to stresses.
Finally, predominantly economic considerations make it important to design the hull of a water craft in such a way that it has a high speed potential and, where a motor-driven water craft is concerned, requires as little fuel as possible. The last-mentioned criterion is very important particularly because of the constantly increasing shortage of raw materials.